The plan for protection in the Dallas Cowboys disaster draft preparation comes down to keeping their absolute strength together. It shouldn’t be hard, as it’s almost entirely on one side of the ball. They’re a team on the rise who took a step back due to an Ezekiel Elliott 2017 six-game suspension. Now they look to regroup and rebound in 2017. They don’t have many extremely difficult choices, but it’s still worth figuring out.
Free agents lost: Stephen Paea, Byron Bell, Jonathon Cooper, Alfred Morris, DeMarcus Lawrence
The No Doubters:
| Player | POS. | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Tyron Smith | LT | $17,545,000 | $15,545,000 | $13,545,000 | $12,245,000 | $13,500,000 |
| Travis Frederick | C | $13,235,000 | $9,235,000 | $10,235,000 | $9,385,000 | $8,450,000 |
| Sean Lee | OLB | $11,016,666 | $10,066,668 | UFA | – | – |
| Zack Martin | G | $9,341,000 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Ezekiel Elliott | RB | $6,806,274 | $7,940,655 | – | UFA | – |
| La’el Collins | RT | $5,833,333 | $7,333,334 | UFA | – | – |
| Taco Charlton | DE | $2,279,179 | $2,735,015 | $3,190,851 | – | UFA |
| Chaz Green | G | $877,245 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Dak Prescott | QB | $725,848 | $815,849 | UFA | – | – |
It’s pretty clear what the game plan is here. Keep the entire super strong offensive line together to keep Dak Prescott from snapping in half. They also keep Zeke Elliott to keep defenses distracted so Dak Prescott doesn’t get snapped in half. They also keep Dak Prescott, who they hope to not have snapped in half. They add two defensive players: superstar linebacker Sean Lee and sophomore edge rusher Taco Charlton. Now things get tricky.
The More-Than-Likely Staying:
| QUARTERBACKS | POS. | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Dez Bryant | WR | $16,500,000 | $16,500,000 | UFA | – | – |
| Tyrone Crawford | DE | $9,100,000 | $10,100,000 | $9,100,000 | UFA | – |
| Jason Witten | TE | $6,500,000 | $6,500,000 | $6,500,000 | $6,500,000 | UFA |
| Terrance Williams | WR | $4,750,000 | $4,750,000 | $5,250,000 | UFA | – |
| Byron Jones | FS | $2,736,981 | – | UFA | – | – |
| Ryan Switzer | WR | $696,496 | $786,496 | $876,499 | UFA | – |
| Chidobe Awuzie | CB | $973,543 | $1,168,251 | $1,362,960 | UFA | – |
I’m going to be honest… Dez Bryant is close to not making the cut, and likely will not make this cut if we redo this exercise in 2019. He’s not capital D capital B Dez Bryant anymore, but he’s still a quality receiver. Still, their cap is a mess and they need to pay Dak soon, so Dez might not be resigned. Crawford, Jones and Awuzie are two of the best parts of a godawful defense. Witten is old as dirt but he will literally play for the Cowboys until the heat death of the universe. Switzer is a budding return man and Terrance Williams is a quality #2 WR for Dak to throw the ball to instead of Dez.
The Leftovers:
They were America’s team, now they’re America’s Expansion Teams. The following players will be eligible for the Conquistadors and Arches.
| Player | POS. | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Orlando Scandrick | CB | $5,281,021 | $5,600,000 | UFA | – | – |
| Cole Beasley | WR | $4,250,000 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Dan Bailey | K | $4,200,000 | $3,400,000 | $3,400,000 | UFA | – |
| Benson Mayowa | DE | $3,850,000 | UFA | – | – | – |
| James Hanna | TE | $3,500,000 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Jeff Heath | FS | $1,950,000 | $2,450,000 | UFA | – | – |
| Jaylon Smith | ILB | $1,771,355 | $2,066,584 | UFA | – | – |
| Chris Jones | P | $1,700,000 | $2,300,000 | $2,400,000 | $2,500,000 | UFA |
| Randy Gregory | OLB | $1,213,844 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Maliek Collins | DT | $975,288 | $1,071,816 | UFA | – | – |
| Damien Wilson | OLB | $821,581 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Datone Jones | DE | $790,000 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Charles Tapper | DE | $784,470 | $874,470 | UFA | – | – |
| Jourdan Lewis | CB | $768,357 | $863,357 | $963,357 | UFA | – |
| Geoff Swaim | TE | $718,685 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Rod Smith | RB | $705,000 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Joe Vellano | DT | $705,000 | $805,000 | UFA | – | – |
| Marqueston Huff | FS | $705,000 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Anthony Brown | CB | $663,736 | $753,739 | UFA | – | – |
| Kavon Frazier | S | $655,089 | $745,089 | UFA | – | – |
| Richard Ash | DT | $630,000 | RFA | – | – | – |
| Xavier Woods | SS | $594,972 | $684,972 | $774,972 | UFA | – |
| Noah Brown | WR | $572,984 | $662,984 | $752,986 | UFA | – |
| Cooper Rush | QB | $556,666 | $646,668 | RFA | – | – |
| Blake Jarwin | TE | $555,000 | $645,000 | RFA | – | – |
| Kadeem Edwards | G | $555,000 | ERFA | – | – | – |
| Lewis Neal | DE | $555,000 | ERFA | – | – | – |
| Daniel Ross | DE | $555,000 | ERFA | – | – | – |
| Tre’Von Johnson | OLB | $555,000 | ERFA | – | – | – |
| Jameill Showers | QB | $480,000 | $570,000 | ERFA | – | – |
| Brian Brown | WR | $480,000 | $570,000 | ERFA | – | – |
| K.D. Cannon | WR | $480,000 | $570,000 | ERFA | – | – |
| Lance Lenoir | WR | $480,000 | ERFA | – | – | – |
| Rico Gathers | TE | $480,000 | $570,000 | RFA | – | – |
| Jarron Jones | DT | $480,000 | $570,000 | ERFA | – | – |
| Duke Thomas | S | $480,000 | ERFA | – | – | – |
| Marquez White | CB | $480,000 | $570,000 | ERFA | – | – |
